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Martha Graham

News about Martha Graham, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times. More

Martha Graham was a prime revolutionary in the arts of this century and the American dancer and choreographer whose name became synonymous with modern dance. She died on April 1, 1991 at her home in Manhattan. She was 96 years old.

Frequently ranked with Picasso, Stravinsky and James Joyce for developing a form of expression that broke the traditional mold, Miss Graham was initially acclaimed as a great dancer.

Masterworks and Invention

Yet ultimately her genius -- universally recognized as she became the most honored figure in American dance -- was embodied in her choreographic masterworks and her invention of a new and codified dance language.

The Graham technique, which is now used by dance companies throughout the world, became the first enduring alternative to the idiom of classical ballet. Powerful, dynamic, jagged and filled with tension, this vocabulary combined with Miss Graham's distinctive system of training to set her above other dance innovators.

Although such achievements were part of Miss Graham's multi-faceted pioneering role in helping to establish modern dance outside the older ballet tradition after the 1920's, she continued to amaze her public for more than 60 years. She choreographed more than 180 works.

Throughout her career, Miss Graham's fundamental tenet was that dance should reach audiences through a visceral response rather than an objective image that registered upon the intellect. "Out of emotion comes form," she said, and then proved that out of form she could re-create the same emotion onstage.